Gabriel bowls 20 no-balls in nine overs

An alarming series of no-balls from West Indies strike weapon Shannon Gabriel in a tour match against Derbyshire has given the tourists cause for concern less than a week out from the first Test against England.

On the second day of their day-night tune-up at Derby's County Ground, Shai Hope (107 not out) and Roston Chase (110) followed up Kyle Hope's 105 from day one to help the Windies to 3-427 declared, before skittling their hosts for 181.

But a staggering 20 no-balls in just nine overs from Gabriel (2-64) in his first outing of the tour was a disturbing sign for Jason Holder's side just five days out from their series-opener against England at Edgbaston.

Opening the bowling against a second-string Derbyshire outfit, Gabriel's front-foot problem became worryingly apparent when he was forced to bowl an 11-ball over, including a run of three consecutive no-balls.

While captain and fellow quick Holder wisely switched Gabriel to the other end for his second spell, his issues continued when he overstepped seven more times in three overs, though he did manage to claim the wicket of first-drop Tom Wood (15).

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The 29-year-old claimed a second scalp when brought back later in the innings but bowled six more no-balls in his final spell and finished with an economy rate in excess of seven.

The Windies didn't enforce the follow-on and went to stumps at 1-60 with one more day to play.

It isn't the first time Gabriel has raised eyebrows with no-ball troubles, having overstepped by an enormous margin against Australia on the opening day of the Hobart Test in 2015.

Shannon Gabriel's huge no ball

Gabriel has played in the Windies' last 10 Tests and collected a match-winning 5-11 in the second Test in Barbados against Pakistan in April, arguably his finest performance for the national side.

But he left Caribbean cricket fans – and West Indies' team hierarchy – with their heads in their hands in the ensuing Test when the tail-ender, with the hosts six balls away from securing a draw, played a wild slog and was bowled to hand Pakistan a series-clinching victory.

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West Indies' series against England gets underway on Thursday at Edgbaston with Test cricket's fifth pink-ball Test, with matches at Headingley and Lord's to follow.

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Cricket Australia.